Elite Cornerback James Locke commits to Oregon

Oregon's landed another elite football player. This time it's cornerback James Locke from Beaumont, Texas. He's rated as a 3-star and the 66th best corner nationally by Scout.com, but you have to wonder after looking at the film, what the heck are they looking at. And if you ever needed proof that coaches nationally could care less about the supposed rankings, look no further than James Locke. His offer list looks like a who's who of the top college programs. One that would garner at least a 4-star. I'd be surprised if he's not elevated if during a one of the re-evaluations over the next 6 months.

Locke brings good speed, strong ball skills and the kind of academic skills that could help him thrive at Oregon and learn quickly from John Neal and the rest of the Oregon staff.

Oregon is flat out getting it done in the world of recruiting right now. With 11 commits by July 1 they are way ahead of where they are or have really ever been at this point in the cycle.

Oregon has three top 100 commits and they're all at skill positions. The addition of Travis Waller leaves Oregon in position to fill the skill spots with talent and depth. That's something only elite teams have in place.

Years ago I heard a discussion with Dan Hawkins and Chris Peterson. They were talking about what is required to get to the elite level and stay there. 'The first', said Hawkins, 'is talent. Then you have to have talent that's been in your system and played enough games together to create experience.' Then Peterson chimed in, 'and the last is depth with talent and experience. Once you have that, you have a team that's a force for the entire season and into a bowl game. That's a top 5 team or someone who can compete for titles.

I always thought that was a great way to look at a roster. Do they have front line talent? Do they have talent that has experience? Do they have both of those, and then the depth behind it so they aren't crippled when injuries show up? Oregon's now in a position with all of those.